Proust, Robert, 1873-1935

Robert Emile Sigismond Léon Proust (24 May 1873 – 29 May 1935) was a French urologist and gynaecologist and the younger brother of the writer Marcel Proust. Both brothers had an early education at the Lycée Condorcet, with Robert Proust going on to study medicine. An active supporter of his brother's writing career, and following Marcel's early death, he arranged for publication of the final three volumes of Marcel's novel À la recherche du temps perdu. He published a landmark medical paper on perineal prostatectomy, "De la prostatectomie périnéale totale", following which his colleagues nicknamed his prostate procedure a "proustatectomie". In addition, his interest in gynaecology led to his publication of multiple editions of Chirurgie de l'appareil génital de la femme, a gynaecology textbook. Amongst other accomplishments, Proust served as a military surgeon during the First World War where he devised a form of mobile operating theatre called the "auto-chir", which could be moved close to the front, and was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1925. Proust died 1935. The Hôpital Tenon in Paris named the "Pavillon Proust" in his honour.